Pairing: Millard Nullings x Reader (Soulmate AU)
Summary: All your life you were told the same story. Soul mates were a natural phenomenon that nobody could explain. Your soulmate’s first scar appears on you, and yours on them. Many people didn’t find their soulmates until later in life, since soulmark scars were considered private and were often covered up. Others found soulmates that they connected to on a higher level of friendship, rather than of romance.
But when you follow your brother Jacob into a time loop, you never considered the possibility that you'd find your soulmate there.
The cold winds of Cairnholm blew frigid rain against your face. With a sigh, you ran after your brother Jacob. You understood the need to find out about your grandfather. But that didn’t mean you wanted to trek across a gods forsaken bog in the middle of a rainstorm to do so. Your first day on the island you had helped Jake find the house, and you saw how devastated he was when it appeared to just be ruins.
However, when Jacob suggested investigating the inside of the house, you genuinely thought he was losing his mind. To be honest, the thought had crossed your mind a few times since he started rambling about the monster in the woods. But for whatever reason, you believed him. After all, soulmates were real and nobody questioned that. There was more to this world than people knew, so who could definitively prove that Jacob hadn’t seen a monster?
Fortunately for you, the day he first decided to look into the old house, you hadn’t been feeling well and had an excuse to stay at the hotel. While you worried something bad might happen, you wouldn’t have been much help in the state you were in.
When he returned from his trip, telling you stories of peculiar children, like the ones your grandfather had known, you felt worry bubble up inside of you. What if you were wrong and he really was losing it? But there was no harm in seeing it for yourself, so you agreed to go with him the next day.
That’s how you ended up finding yourself headed back to the house in a storm strong enough to send you flying. Jacob was silent, just like he had been for the past few weeks. Except now he seemed to be brimming with energy. You absentmindedly ran your fingers along the scar on your forearm. There was still a ways to go before you arrived at the house, so you let your mind wander.
Soul mates were a natural phenomenon that nobody could explain. Your soulmate’s first scar appears on you, and yours on them. Many people didn’t find their soulmates until later in life, since soulmark scars were considered private and were often covered up. Others found soulmates that they connected to on a higher level of friendship, rather than of romance.
You were born with your soulmate’s scar, a thin line right under your collarbone. It was rare to be born with a scar, although not exactly impossible. When you were younger, you would find yourself tracing it, wondering what had happened to your soulmate for them to get such a wound.
You hadn’t yet met your soulmate, but it wasn’t much of a surprise to you. After all, you still had plenty of time ahead of you. Part of you longed to meet them, but at the same time the idea scared you. What if they didn’t like you? Or what if you were one of the people who never met their soulmate?
Before you could spiral down further into those thoughts, you had arrived at the small tunnel leading to the house. Glancing at your brother you asked, “Is this the loop entrance?”
Jacob nodded and grinned at you. “Follow me.” The tunnel was dark, but as you walked there was suddenly a change in the path’s atmosphere, and a light appeared at the end of it. When you finally stepped back outside, the weather had changed completely. Rather than a horribly rainy day, you were greeted by a warm, sunny afternoon. Strangest of all was the house, standing perfectly in all its glory, rather than the decrepit state you had seen it in.
“Jacob!” A girl around your age ran from the house, embracing Jacob in a quick hug.
“Hi, Emma,” he replied, a slight blush creeping onto his face.
The girl turned to you, “You must be Jacob’s sister, he’s told us so much about you.”
You stood in shock. So the stories were true, which meant you really were in a time loop. Before you could reply to Emma, several more children came bounding out of the house, followed by a woman smoking a pipe.
“We’re so glad to finally meet you,” the woman said, smiling warmly. “I’m Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine.”
“Thank you,” you replied, finally coming to your senses. You glanced over at the others, trying to remember who was who from your grandfather’s photos. Fortunately, Miss Peregrine introduced each one to you while naming their peculiarity. You did you best to remember everything she told you, but it was difficult.
Finally she finished listing off everyone, but your brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry, what did you say Millard’s peculiarity was?”
“Invisibility,” she restated while blowing out a puff of smoke from her pipe.
Now you really were confused, “Is it optional? Like can he turn it on and off at will?”
“No, I’m afraid it’s quite permanent,” Millard spoke up.
You turned towards the boy, “Are you being sarcastic?”
He looked puzzled, “Why would I be sarcastic about such a thing?”
“Because I can see you right now.” A gasp went up from the group, and you wondered if you said something wrong. “I’m sorry, should I have not said anything?”
“No,” Miss Peregrine replied, shaking her head, “but none of us have ever been able to see Millard.”
“Could it be a manifestation of her peculiarity?” Emma asked. “After all, Abe had special sight, and although he couldn’t see Millard, it could be a different form of the power.”
“I don’t think that’s it,” you replied, glancing down. “I’m just ordinary,”
Miss Peregrine glanced over at Jacob before returning her gaze to you, “Only peculiars can enter time loops, my dear.”
Once you overcame the initial shock of your newfound ability, Miss Peregrine gave you some time-period appropriate clothes to wear. Your dress had short sleeves, leaving your scar exposed, but you figured it wouldn’t be an issue. Your soulmate’s scar was covered by the high collar of the dress.
Miss Peregrine then led you on a tour of the house, explaining some things about the loops as you went along.
“It’s a rather good thing I instructed Millard to look presentable today,” the ymbryne commented. At your look of confusion she explained, “He usually wanders around in the nude. Being invisible doesn’t have much of an advantage if you’re wearing clothes, you see.”
You felt a blush creep onto your face at her words. It was a shame no one else could see Millard, you thought. He was quite handsome. You tried to push the thought out of your mind, and instead tried to focus on Miss Peregrine’s tour. She was showing you up the stairs to a spare room, should you ever decide to stay the night or rest for a bit.
Coincidentally, Millard’s room was right next to yours, and you once again found your thoughts drifting back to him. You hoped you hadn’t made him uncomfortable with your questions about his peculiarity.
Miss Peregrine ushered you along, wanting to show you the rest of the house before dinner time. “And up there you’ll find Enoch’s room, although he hates to be interrupted when working, so I wouldn’t advise going there without invitation,” she pointed towards a closed door at the end of the hall. “I think that’s everything you need to know. Any questions?”
To be honest, you hadn’t been listening, so you just shook your head no. “I think I’ll go and rest a bit before supper, it’s a lot to take in.”
“That’s understandable,” she said with a nod. “Oh, and should you see Miss Bloom and your brother please tell them I need to speak with them.” You nodded and she turned to walk away. As soon as she was out of sight you turned to go back to your room. However, instead of walking into your room, you knocked on Millard’s door.
You weren’t sure why, but you had the urge to apologize for what had happened this morning.
After a moment you heard a voice call from inside the room, “Who’s there?”
“Millard, it’s me,” you answered. “I was hoping we could talk?”
He sighed and opened the door. “What did you want to talk about?” He opened the door wider, allowing you to step inside. Glancing around the room you noticed it was perfectly neat, save for a jacket tossed over the back of a small sofa.
You could feel his gaze on you and you sheepishly looked towards the floor. “I wanted to apologize for this morning. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable in front of the others for questioning your peculiarity.”
He shook his head, “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m sure if someone told me they were invisible, and yet I could see them, I would question it.” You smiled at his assurance.
“I’d better get going then, I don’t want to bother you.”
As you turned to the door he reached out to stop you, “Don’t go, please. I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you.” You turned back to face him and nodded.
“Alright then,” you smiled. He motioned for you to take a seat on the sofa, and once you did he sat next to you.
“So you didn’t know anything about your peculiarity until today?” He seemed genuinely curious, and it was understandable. Afterall, it seemed no one could actually see him except for you.
“I thought I was just normal,” you shrugged. “Although now it seems that’s not the case.” You ran your fingers over the scar on your arm, feeling a bit nervous.
The action seemed to catch Millard’s attention and he looked at you questioningly. “It’s my scar,” you explained. “I got it after falling into some thorny bushes a few years ago.”
“Oh,” he answered. A moment later he asked hesitantly, “Have you met your soulmate yet?”
“No,” you answered, “have you?” A moment after you asked you realized you probably shouldn’t have said it. He was stuck in a loop for bird’s sake, what opportunity would he have to meet his soulmate.
As you expected, he told you he had not. “I only ever had one scar, until a few years ago. One day there was a small glow on my arm and a scar appeared there. I’m surprised I even noticed it.”
“I’ve had my soulmate’s scar since before I was born,” you said quietly. You absentmindedly brushed your fingers against the mark on your collarbone. As you did, Millard looked at you in shock.
“I know I shouldn’t ask,” he began, “but what does your soulmark look like?”
You hesitated, but answered his question, “It’s a thin scar, almost like a knife wound, although that wouldn’t make much sense.”
Millard anxiously held out his arm to you. “Is this your scar?” As soon as you saw the mark you nodded, you would have known it anywhere.
You pulled down the collar of your shirt slightly, revealing your soulmark. “Is this…” you trailed off, nervously waiting for his response.
His eyes met yours and he nodded. “I got that scar when I was coming here to Miss Peregrine’s loop. Not everyone takes kindly to a disappearing teen wandering the Welsh countryside.” He looked down as he said it, and you knew it must have been a painful memory for him.
Before you could respond, you heard Miss Peregrine’s voice call from down the stairs, “Children, it’s time for dinner.” While you wanted to spend the rest of the evening talking with Millard, you both decided it was for the best to join the others, and then talk again afterwards. It would give you some time to process this new revelation.
You took a seat at the dinner table next to Millard, purposefully ignoring the knowing look that Jacob gave you. During the dinner you spoke with the others, who asked if you and Jake would be staying, Like your brother, you didn’t have much reason to go back to Florida, and as you looked at the boy sitting next to you, it dawned on you that you had every reason to stay here.
Millard linked his hand with yours under the table, and you couldn’t help but smile to yourself. Dinner seemed to fly by, and Miss Peregrine soon announced, “Alright everyone, you have exactly one hour until reset. I do hope the Portmans will be staying with us until then at least?”
You and Jake both nodded. “I want to show you something,” Millard whispered to you. He led you out the backdoor of the house towards a small garden patch, out of view from the rest of the courtyard.
A small bench was positioned in the middle of the garden patch, and you sat down next to Millard. “Are you planning to stay?”
The suddenness of the question took you by surprise. “I need to talk to Jacob, but yes. Now that I know you’re here I can’t just leave.”
He shook his head, “There are things about this world that you don’t know about. If you stay in a loop for too long you can never leave. Should you leave you’ll age forward and…” he trailed off. “I don’t want you to be stuck here because of me. People aren’t exactly friendly to peculiars, either.” Millard absentmindedly brushed a hand over his scar. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, and you could see plainly the twin mark to the one you wore on your collarbone.
Without thinking, you leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to the mark. “Wherever you are is where I want to be. No matter the consequences.” You looked up at him, his faces inches from yours.
He closed the space, his lips connecting with yours. You kissed him back, as he wrapped an arm around your waist pulling you closer. Deepening the kiss, you brought a hand up to his face, before tangling it in his hair.
When you finally broke apart you found yourself breathless. He took your hand in his, and placed a soft kiss to the scar on your arm, sending your heart aflutter. His hand was still on your waist, tracing small circles over the fabric of your dress.
He kissed the top of your head. “We should probably get back for the reset. I’m sure the others are looking for us.”
You leaned in, “Then let them look. We might have forever ahead of us, but this moment is still ours.”
He smiled, placing a soft kiss to your lips. You knew you’d have to tell the others eventually, and you’d need to explain to Jacob that you’d be staying. But all of that could wait. You had finally found your soulmate, and nothing could ruin this perfect moment.
I've been rereading this series since the new book is coming out soon, and i fell in love with the story all over again. (Not to mention falling for a certain invisible character.) As always, likes and reblogs are appreciated! Love you all! <3
